Manufacture of carbureted water gas and in carburetors for use therein



Jan. 5, 1954 N. H. WILLIAMS MANUFACTURE OF CARBURETED WATER GAS AND IN CARBURETORS FOR USE THEREIN 4 Sheets-Sheet J.

Filed Aug. 29, 1949 ve for I Mam Aftorneyi Jan. 5, 1954 N. H. WILLIAMS MANUFACTURE OF CARBURETED WATER GAS AND IN CARBURETORS FOR USE THEREIN Filed Aug. 29, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 .vZZ Q v MM/Z G L/// F l 44, Q

Inventor MM m,

mm B

Attorney;

' N. H. WILLIAMS MANUFACTURE OF CARBURETED WATER GAS AND IN CARBURETORS FOR USE THEREIN Jan. 5, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug. 29, 1949 Jan. 5, 1954 MANUFACTURE OF CARBURETED WATER GAS WILLIAMS AND IN CARBURETORS FOR USE THEREIN 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Aug. 29, 1949 S R o M m m L m L E 0 V W W W. Y. A R N E H N A M W R O xom :9 N j J I 59:6 98 23m 2260 u mo v.95

Y E B 56 98 22:5 moEfizww w w/ mwtwgmm 1555%? :55 5E v65 Patented Jan. 5, 1954 MANUFACTURE OF CARBURETED WATER GAS AND IN CARBURETORS FOR USE THEREIN Norman Henry Williams, Westminster, England, assignor to Humphreys & Glasgow Limited, Westminster, England Application August 219, 1949, Serial No. 112,906

Claims priority, application Great Britain September 16, 1948 1 Claim. i

This invention relates to the manufacture of carburetted water gas by alternately blasting upwardly with air and steaming upwardly a fuel bed in a generator, burning the blow gas and passing it and uprun make gas through a carburetter and superheater, effecting a back run by admitting steam to the superheater and passing it through the superheater, the carburetter and generator in the revers direction and spraying oil into the carburetter during upward steaming of the generator fuel bed. c

When spraying heavy oil into the carburetter of a water gas plant there is difliculty in disposing of the carbonaceous deposits which are formed when incompletely evaporated oil particles come into contact with hot brickwork; moreover, carbonaceous residues from oil droplets which have been completely evaporated out of contact with hot brickwork are normally entrained in the gas and this is undesirable.

According to the present invention unevaporated oil and carbon residues are collected by passing the uprun gas on its way throughthe carburetter to the superheater through apermeable bed or layer of material; back run steam is passed through the bed or layer in the reverse direction to the uprun gas and, during the blow period or upward blasting of the fuel bed in the generator, air is passed in the same direction as the back run steam through the permeable bed or layer to meet blow gas passing into the superheater from the carburetter.

The carburetter contains no checkerbrick to b encountered by the sprayed oil before it reaches the permeable bed or layer and the oil is sprayed into the carburetter in such manner as to minimise impingement on the walls.

The permeable bed or layer may consist of refractory pieces, or of coke or the like or be of shallow brickwork construction.

By the method described the bed or layer is maintained at a high temperature and oil residues reaching it are evaporated and carbon deposits on or in it combine with the steam'o'r are burned with the air preheated in passing through the first-encountered portion of the bedor layer, only incombustible residues having to be removed from time to time.

If desired, only part of the uprun gases may traverse the bed or layer but'there is then a tendency for someunevaporated oil particles to be carried to th superheater instead of being caught by the bed or layer; moreover the bed or layer will not be maintained at such a high temperature.

Also the bed or layer may be traversed by only part of the back run steam.

The invention is applicable to various methods and cycles of operation and in carburetters through which the gases flow downwardly durin the blow and uprun gas making periods as well as to those in which the gas flow is upward during those periods.

In a carburetter according to the invention, beyond a gas connection with the superheater there is provided means for supporting a permeable bed or layer of refractory material, coke or like material or of shallow checkerwork construction and on the other side of the bed there is provided a gas collecting space having a second connection to the superheater connected thereto. These connections or only that on the side of the bed or layer furthest from the generator may be valved; the valves may be butterfly valves. A valved air inlet pipe is connected to the space on that side of the bed or layer remote from the generator. Instead of the superheater connection further from the generator being valved the bed may be so arranged as to offer resistance to flow of air from the air inlet through the said connection into the superheater so that at least part of this air is caused to pass through that section of the bed which the oil residues first contact. For instance, between the top and bottom of the bed there may be a space, which may be annular and to which the air inlet pipe is connected.

In a down flow carburetter the support for the bed or layer may be a grate, or a bosh with or without a grate, located above the floor. When no grate is provided, the lower part of the bed or layer then extends through the bosh and rests on the floor and is surrounded by the gas collecting space.

In an up flow carburetter the support is in the form of a grating or the like to permit passage 01' gas and is located at the upper part of th carburetter.

The refractory bed or layer may be constituted by 'checkerwork resting on a grate or on arches, or when it is situated at the base of the carburetter, the upper outer courses of brickwork may be supported upon an annular shelf or projections of the carburetter lining while the remaining courses are formed as a central supporting column or pillar resting on the floor of the carburetter.

' :The carburetters may be provided with doors for giving access to the beds or layers.

Fig. 1 is a vertical section of the lower part of a carburetter according to the invention through which the blast gases and uprun gas flow downwardly to the superheater.

Figs. 2, 3 and 4 are similar views of modifications of such a carburettor.

Fig. 5 is a vertical section of the upper part of one form of carburetter according to the invention through which the blast gases and uprun gas flow upwardly to the superheater.

Fig. 6 is an assembly view showing the generator, carburetter, and superheater, and the connections therebetween according to my invention.

In Fig. 1, I0 is a bed or layer of refractory material, coke or the like supported on a grate l2 resting on an annular shelf or series of projec tions I 4 from the carburettor lining some distance above its floor to provide a space as shown. In this space heat storing honeycomb brick structure 16 may be arranged to aid in supporting the rate.

Above the level of the bed iii a passage [8 connects the carburetter C to the superheater S (Fig. 6) and a passage 20 connects the space below the grate 2 to the superheater S. The passage l8 and 20 may join the superheater S, which may be of any desired construction, at the same or different levels or may merge beyond the valves I8 and 20 The passage I8 is controlled by a valve l8" and the passage 20 by a valve 20*.

' 22 is an air inlet to the space below the grate I2 and 22 a valve controlling theadmission of air.

Cleaning doors not shown are provided in the neighbourhood of the bed I0.

During the uprun while the gases from generator G are introduced into carburetter C, oil is sprayed into the carburettor C downwardly through pipe 30, or upwardly, and preferably the valve 18 is closed and the valve 20* is open so that the gas flows downwardly through the bed iii and unevaporated oil and carbon residues are held by it. On changing over to the back run, steam preheated in the superheater S enters the carburetter C through the passage 22 and passes upwards through the bed [0.

During at least part of the blow period but, if desired, for the whole of that period, air is admitted through inlet 22, valve 22 being open for that purpose. closed and valve 58 is open so that air flows upwardly through the bed Hi into the superheater S via passage i8, same being preheated by passage through the bed l0 and burning hot deposited carbon which has not been gas'ified by the through the bed it may be controlled by any suit--' able settings of one or both of valves 20* and I8.

In the construction shown in Fig. 2 the projection 14 of the carburettor wall forms a bosh; the bed It rests on the floor of the carburetter and extends through the bosh as shown. The valves l8 and 20* are shown in the positions they 00-- cupy when the valve 22 is open and air. is passing thence through the bed H] to the superheater.

During that time valve 20 is Figs. 3 and 4 show constructions in which a valve in the passage 20 may be dispensed with.

In Fig. 3 the bed is divided into two portions 10 and [0 supported on grates l2 and 12 spaced one above the other between the passages 18 and 20; the portion l0 is shown of greater depth and smaller material than the portion 10 and offers greater resistance to flow of air from the air inlet 22 t0 the passage 20 than to the passage 18. Thus a substantial proportion of air admitted through valve 22 is caused to pass through the portion 10 which oil residues first contact, to the superheater S through the passage I8. In Fig. .3 no valve is shown in the passage 58 but it is preferred that one shall be provided as shown in Fig. 4 otherwise only a small proportion of the uprun gas and back run steam will pass through the bed.

In Fig. 4, instead of two grates, two boshes I4 I l are provided and the bed portion H) above the air inlet 22 is of less depth than the portion 10 below it; the size of the material in NW, or some of it, may be less than that of the portion In. It is preferred to provide the passage It with a valve Hi as shown.

In Fig. 5 the bed I0 is supported on a grating 12 near the top of the carburettor through which the blast gases and uprun gas flows upwardly, the valved passage 20 and the air inlet 22 being above the bed and the passage [8 below it.

v I claim;

In the manufacture of carburetted water gas involving an uprun, a back run, and a blow period, the following steps, spraying oil during the uprun into the uprun make gas as the latter enters the carburetter, subjecting said oil to substantial evaporation in the carburetter and passing the consequently produced mixture of oil vapour and gas, immediately before exit thereof from the carburetter through a carbon arresting filtering medium to arrest unevaporated oil and carbon residues; then passing the superheated steam during the back run through the said filtering medium in the opposite direction from that of the uprun whereby to cause said steam to react with the arrested carbon residues on the medium to form water gas; then passing air through said filtering medium during the blow in the said opposite direction from that of the uprun so as to meet the reaction gases immediately on its emergence from said medium, where'- by to cause unevaporated oil and carbon residues arrested by said medium to be burned; and then immediately passing the resulting mixture of reaction gases and combustion products into the superheater.

NORMAN HENRY WILLIAMS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS .4 n Ma 

